Loom stopping and protector mechanism

ABSTRACT

A loom stopping and protector mechanism for fly-shuttle looms having a unitary clutch-brake motor and shuttle sensing members pivotably mounted within each of the shuttle boxes and effective through forward motion of the lay to release the loom&#39;&#39;s operating lever to permit the latter to activate the brake of said motor upon indication of an improperly positioned shuttle in either of said shuttle boxes.

United States Patent Inventors Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Rocco H. Mucciarone Franklin;

Joseph M. Budzyna, East Douglas, both 01 Mass.

Dec. 8, 1965 Dec. 14, 1971 North American Rockwell Corporation Pittsburgh, Pa.

LOOM STOPPING AND PROTECTOR MECHANISM 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 139/336, I 1 39/341 Int. Cl D03d 51/02, I 'D03d 51/44 Field 01 Search ..l 39/341-345, V

7 l I l l l I l References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 402,767 5/1889 Pirotte 1,071,244 8/1913 Landry 1,394,341 10/1921 Quellette.. 1,615,082 1/1927 Harrison 2,000,820 5/1935 Chapman et a1 FOREIGN PATENTS 257 1910 Great Britain 328,388 4/1958 Switzerland Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi Allorney- Paul and Paul ABSTRACT: A loom stopping and protector mechanism for fly-shuttle looms having a unitary clutch-brake motor and shuttle sensing members pivotably mounted within each of the shuttle boxes and efi'ective through forward motion of the lay to release the looms operating lever to permit the latter to activate the brake of said motor upon indication of an improperly positioned shuttle in either oi!" said shuttle boxes.

PATENTED HEM 41971 SHEET 2 OF 2 R TM H m NC 0 M H O c C o R JOfiEPH M. BUDZWNM.

w m n A LOOM STOPPING AND PROTECTOR MECHANISM This invention pertains to weaving looms of the fly shuttle type and, more particularly, to an improved loom stopping and protector mechanism for such looms.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved means for automatically stopping a loom in the event of improper shuttle flight or boxing.

A further object is that of providing an improved loom stopping and protector mechanism which will perform its intended function with considerably less inertia than the wellknown conventional mechanism now in common use.

Another object is that of providing such a mechanism which will perform its intended function with fewer and less bulky elements, thereby reducing the weight of the mechanism which in known devices is a contributing factor in the cause of wear and breakage of various loom components.

A still further object is that of providing a loom stopping and protector mechanism whereby the components in each shuttle box which sense the presence of a shuttle and initiate stoppage of a loom are adapted to function independently of the similar components forming a part of the opposed shuttle box.

Another object of the invention is that of providing such a mechanism which by performing its function more efficiently with fewer cooperating components, provides a relatively inexpensive and economically desirable loom stopping and pro tector mechanism.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed disclosure.

In looms of the type wherein a shuttle is employed to insert filling yarn into the shed formed by warp threads and in which the shuttle is received in a shuttle box at each side of the loom, it is common practice to provide a mechanism for detecting timely arrival of the shuttle in a shuttle box. In the event a shuttle fails to leave the shed and to enter a shuttle box within the period of time allowed, the mechanism referred to above arrests completion of the beating up movement of the lay by a so-called loom bang-off," thereby preventing a shuttle smash" which occurs as a late shuttle is forced into the fell of the cloth.

The conventional and well-known means more commonly used to effect a loom bang-off includes a lay supported protector rod which is oscillatable in a known manner and includes frog engageable dagger fingers adjacent each end thereof. With this arrangement, linkage between the shuttle box and the protector rod will lift the dagger fingers a sufficient distance to clear the frogs when a shuttle is properly received and positioned within a shuttle box. A late shuttle will fail to actuate the linkage between the shuttle box and protector rod and will permit the dagger fingers to engage the frogs causing the aforementioned bang-off that brings the loom to an abrupt stop.

The majority of today's production looms utilize a unitary type clutch-brake motor as their source of power and the loom stopping and protector mechanism according to the instant invention is adapted to cooperate with motors of this type as well as other loom-driving mechanisms during the performance of its intended function.

The conventional manner of stopping a loom has presented conditions which are considered undesirable in present-day looms, for as is well known in the weaving art, modern looms have a substantially heavier lay construction and are adapted to operate at greater speeds than the older models of looms. The combination of a heavier lay construction and the increase in loom speeds are at time of bang-off contributing factors in the cause of breakage of various loom components such as loom frames and those cooperating elements utilized to effect the actual cessation of a loom.

The improved loom-stopping and protector mechanism according to the instant invention provides an improved means for the automatic cessation of a loom and has eliminated the well-known conventional bang-off elements which include the protector rod, dagger fingers and frogs. Additionally, the mechanism of the invention is adapted to perform its function independently of the shipper motion elements which provide the means for manually starting and stopping a loom and the shuttle indicating levers or sensing elements forming a part of each shuttle box are adapted to function independently to sense the presence of a shuttle or initiate loom cessation.

These shuttle indicating levers are positioned adjacent the entrance to each shuttle box and are pivotably attached to the upper surface of the back box plates in a manner to permit the free ends thereof to extend angularly downward the shuttle. As a shuttle is caused to enter each of the shuttle boxes, the upper surface thereof contacts the free ends of the indicating levers and pivots them upwardly in a radial arc. Each of the indicating levers is provided with a generally vertically disposed linkage rod which is caused to move with its respective lever and the lower ends of said rods are mechanically linked to a horizontally disposed hooked element or indicating latch. This indicating latch is pivotably mounted intermediate its ends to a bracket member that is suitably attached to the right-hand sword immediately below the lay. By means of the linkage interconnecting the indicating latch with each of the shuttle indicating levers, the hooked or free end of said latch is caused to pivot upwardly as the shuttle enters each of the shuttle boxes.

If the indicating latch fails to be pivoted upwardly at the time the lay is moving toward front center, the hooked end of said latch will contact a vertically disposed pivotable lever moving the same in a like direction. This pivotable lever is, through the combination of linkage elements, interconnected with the operating lever of the clutch-lbrake motor heretofore mentioned and is effective in applying the brake of said motor thereby stopping the loom. A copending Pat. application Ser. No. 476,979 filed Aug. 3, 1965, now abandoned shows and describes a motor disconnect latch with which the linkages and shuttle indicating levers according to the instant invention are adapted to cooperate to effect the cessation of a loom.

The invention will hereinafter be described in greater detail by reference to a specific embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying figures of drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the righthand side of a loom showing a shuttle indicating lever according to the invention as applied thereto and the cooperating linkage for effecting stoppage of a loom;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 1 but showing in further detail the mechanism s pivotable indicating latch;

FIG. 3 is a view partially in section as seen looking in the direction of the indicating arrows of line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the lefthand side of a loom showing a shuttle indicating lever accord ing to the invention as applied thereto and the cooperating linkage for effecting pivotable movement of the shuttle indicating latch disposed at the right-hand side of the loom;

FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view partially in section as seen looking in the direction of the indicating arrows of line 6-6 in FIG. 4 showing the means for supporting and guiding the linkage wire on the underside of the lay which interconnects the left-hand shuttle indicating lever with the indicating latch.

Referring now to the various figures of drawing, a portion of a loom's right-hand shuttle box is depicted in FIGS. I and 2 and a portion of the loom's left-hand shuttle box is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Since the general construction and means of operation of fly shuttle looms are well known to those conversant with the weaving art, and as the invention is entirely concerned with a novel protection mechanism for stopping a loom, it is only considered necessary here to illustrate and describe those parts of a loom directly concerned with a preferred form of the present invention.

Those conventional components of shuttle boxes not shown include such items as the front box plates, binders and back box plate extensions.

Among other conventional parts, a loom includes a lay beam 10 having a shuttle race 11 and reed '12 assembled thereon in a suitable conventional manner (FIGS. 2 and 3). The lay beam 10 is supported near its opposed ends by sword members 13 and 14 which are caused to swing to and fro during the performance of their intended function (FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and

The shuttle indicating lever according to the invention shown in FIG. I is depicted generally by numeral 15 with one end thereof being pivotably attached to the upper surface of the right-hand back box plate 16 as at 17. From the pivot point 17 this indicating lever extends angularly downwardly to a position where the free end thereof is adapted to be contacted by the upper surface of a shuttle 18 (FIGS. 1 and 4) as the latter is caused to enter the shuttle box at the right-hand end of the lay.

A similar shuttle indicating lever is adapted to function in cooperation with the left-hand shuttle box and will be more fully described hereinafter.

As the shuttle enters the shuttle box it contacts the free end or camming tip portion of the indicating lever 15 and pivots it upwardly. While the shuttle is within the confines of the shuttle box, the free end of the indicating lever rests upon the upper surface of said shuttle and when the latter is picked or caused to move out of the shuttle box, contact between these members is lost and the weight of said lever is sufficient to cause it to pivot downwardly to its initial position.

A generally vertically disposed linkage rod 19 is pivotably attached adjacent its upper end to the indicating lever 15 at a point intermediate the ends of the latter by means of a ball joint type of bushing 20. Linkage rod 19 is movable in a generally vertical plane by the pivoting movement of the indicating lever 15. The lower end of the linkage rod 19 is pivotably attached as at 21 (FIGS. 2 and 3) to an indicating latch generally indicated by numeral 22. This indicating latch 22 is in the form ofa double armed lever having a first arm 23, a second arm 24, and being pivotably mounted intermediate its ends to a mounting bracket 25 by means of a cap screw 26. Mounting bracket 25 is fixedly attached to the right-hand sword 14 at a point just below the lay by means of capscrews 27 (one only shown in FIG. 2) and as will be more fully described hereinafter, it supports additional elements for receiving indications from the left-hand shuttle box.

The pivotable attachment point 21 of the lower end of the linkage rod 19 forms a part of the first am 23 of the indicating latch 22, and as said rod 19 is caused to move upwardly it pulls upwardly on the first arm 23 thereby pivoting the indicating latch 22 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 of the drawing. The free end of the first arm 23 of the indicating lever 22 is in hook form and is identified by numeral 28 in FIG. 2. This hooked portion of the indicating lever is adapted to cooperate with a vertically disposed lever 29 (upper portion only shown in FIG. 2) which is pivotably attached at its lower end by any suitable means to the loom frame. This vertically disposed lever 29 is mechanically linked to the motor disconnect latch as shown and described in the aforementioned patent application and when caused to be pivoted forwardly, it will effect an immediate cessation of loom power. A shuttle is timed to enter a shuttle box while the lay is moving from back to front center and when properly received into a shuttle box, the movement of the shuttle indicating lever raises the indicating latch 22 a sufficient distance to clear the upper end of the vertically disposed lever 29. If a shuttle fails to enter a shuttle box at the precise moment it is timed to enter said box, the indicating latch will not be pivoted and will be caused to make contact with lever 29 as shown in FIG. 2 moving the same a sufficient distance to effect loom stoppage.

The means by which the similar components of the lefthand shuttle box are able to transmit independent indications to the indicating latch 22 will now be described.

The second arm 24 of the indicating latch 22 extends beyond the forward side of the mounting bracket 25. This forward side of the mounting bracket is a vertically disposed planar surface that is identified by numeral 30 (FIG. 1). A lever cam generally indicated by numeral 31 is pivotably mounted intermediate its ends to the planar surface 30 of the mounting bracket by means of a capscrew 32 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Thislever cam 31 is generally L" shaped having a lower arm 33, the lower edge of which serves as a camming surface and is in contact with the upper side of the second arm 24 of the indicating latch 22. An upper arm of the lever cam is identified by numeral 34 and is bifurcated at the end portion thereof (FIG. 2) for the purpose of pivotably mounting therebetween a linkage wire end member 35. This end member is in the form of a ball joint bushing and assembles within the bifurcated portion of the upper arm 34 by means of bolt 36 and nut 37 (FIG. 2). A linkage wire 38 suitably attached to the end member 35 extends to the opposite side of the loom and as shown in FIG. 6 is supported and guided by a groovedguide block 39. Guide block 39 attaches to the underside of the lay at a point approximately the center of the latter by means of capscrews 40 (one only shown in FIGS. 4 and 6). The end of the linkage wire 38 at the left-hand side of the loom is similar to the right-hand side in that it is provided with a linkage wire end member 41 that is in the form of a ball joint bushing. End member 41 is pivotably mounted in the bifurcated upper end portion of a linkage arm 42 by means of a bolt 43 and nut 44. The lower end of linkage arm 42 is provided with an integrally formed hub element 45 and is fixedly assembled on a horizontally disposed rod 46 by means of a nut 47 and washer 48 (FIGS. 4 and 5). Rod 46 is assembled for oscillating movement in a journal block 49, the latter of which is attached to the lefthand sword by means of capscrews 50 (one only shown in FIG. 5) at a pointjust below the lay 10. That end ofthe journal block adjacent its attachment point to the sword and opposite the end at which the linkage arm 42 is positioned, is provided with an opening 51 that exposes the inner end of rod 46. A second linkage arm 52 is fixedly attached to this end of rod 46 and extends outwardly from the latter in a horizontal plane or at a right angle relative to the linkage arm 42. The outer end of this second linkage arm 52 is also bifurcated and by means of a bolt 53 and nut 54 it pivotably attaches within said bifurcation the lower end of a linkage rod 55. Rod 55 extends upwardly and is pivotably attached adjacent its upper end to a shuttle indicating lever 56. This lever and linkage rod are adapted to function in the same manner as that heretofore described for the lever and linkage rod disposed at the right-hand side of the loom. As with the shuttle indicating lever on the right-hand side of the loom, lever 56 is pivotably mounted on the upper surface of the back box plate with the free end or camming tip portion thereof extending angularly downward into the pathway of the shuttle 18.

When a shuttle enters the left-hand shuttle box, it contacts the indicating lever 56 pivoting the same upwardly in a radial arc. This movement will cause linkage rod 55 to also move upwardly and pivot linkage arms 42 and 52 in a counterclockwise direction as seen looking from the front of a loom. The moving of linkage arm 42 in a counterclockwise direction moves the linkage wire 38 connected thereto in the direction of the indicating arrow 57 depicted in FIG. 4 and pivots the lever cam 31 at the right-hand side of the loom in a counterclockwise direction also. This pivoting movement of the lever cam 31 causes the lower arm 33 thereof to push the second arm 24 of the indicating latch downwardly thereby pivoting said latch to a position where the hook portion 28 thereof will clear the upper end of the vertically disposed lever 29 on the forward movement of the lay.

In operation, a shuttle is caused to travel back and forth across the loom lay beam in a conventional and well-known manner. As the shuttle enters either the rightor left-hand shuttle box, the upper surface thereof contacts the shuttle indicating lever of the particular box being entered and pivots said lever upwardly in a radial arc. Both the rightand lefthand shuttle indicating levers are mechanically linked to the indicating latch 22 and are capable of transmitting independent indications to said latch to initiate loom stoppage. A shuttle is timed to enter the shuttle box on the forward movement of the lay and should it fail to enter either shuttle box at the precise moment it is timed to enter therein, the linkages cooperating with the indicating levers will fail to be actuated and the indicating latch 22 will not be pivoted to clear the upper end portion of the vertically disposed lever 29. Continued forward movement of the lay will cause the indicating latch to pivot the upper end of the lever 29 in a forwardly direction and by means of the aforementioned linkage cooperating with said lever 29 an immediate cessation of loom power is initiated.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

We claim:

I. A loom-stopping and protector mechanism for a fly-shuttle loom which is operable through linkages interconnected with motors of the clutch-brake type, a lay, aligned and oppositely disposed shuttle boxes forming the ends of said lay for receiving a shuttle as it is caused to travel thereacross, the improvement which comprises a shuttle indicating lever pivotably mounted in each of said boxes adjacent the shuttle entrance portion thereof, said lever being disposed so as to be contacted by said shuttle and pivoted in a radial are as the latter enters each of said boxes, a vertically disposed cooperating linkage rod movable with each of said indicating levers and interconnected with additional linkage elements which are adapted through forward motion of said lay to release the motor to braking position upon indication of an improperly positioned shuttle in one of said shuttle boxes, wherein said additional linkage elements include an indicating latch mounted for pivotable movement by said linkage rods and levers away from engagement with the means for causing a cessation of loom power.

2. The mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said indicating levers and cooperating linkage rods are provided with means for transmitting independent indications for the pivotal movement of said indicating latch.

3. The mechanism according to claim 2 wherein said means for transmitting independent indications to said indicating latch includes a longitudinally extending linkage wire and cooperating link element interconnecting said latch with the most remotely disposed shuttle box therefrom.

4. A loom-stopping and protector mechanism for a fly-shuttle loom which is operable through linkages interconnected with motors of the clutch-brake type, a lay, aligned and oppositely disposed shuttle boxes forming the ends of said lay for receiving a shuttle as it is caused to travel thereacross, the improvement which comprises a shuttle-indicating lever pivotably mounted in each of said boxes adjacent the shuttle entrance portion thereof, said lever being disposed so as to be contacted by said shuttle and pivoted in a radial are as the latter enters each of said boxes, a vertically disposed cooperating linkage rod movable with each of said indicating levers and interconnected with additional linkage elements which are adapted through forward motion of said lay to release the motor to braking position upon indication of an improperly positioned shuttle in one of said shuttle boxes, wherein said shuttle indicating levers are provided with camming tip portions for contacting the upper surface of said shuttle when the latter enters each of said shuttle boxes thereby pivoting said levers upwardly in a radial arc.

5. The mechanism according to claim 4 wherein the camming tip portions of said levers are so formed and disposed as to cause said tip portions to automatically pivot to the shuttle pathway position when losing contact with the upper surface of said shuttle as the latter is picked from each of said shuttle boxes. 

1. A loom-stopping and protector mechanism for a fly-shuttle loom which is operable through linkages interconnected with motors of the clutch-brake type, a lay, aligned and oppositely disposed shuttle boxes forming the ends of said lay for receiving a shuttle as it is caused to travel thereacross, the improvement which comprises a shuttle indicating lever pivotably mounted in each of said boxes adjacent the shuttle entrance portion thereof, said lever being disposed so as to be contacted by said shuttle and pivoted in a radial arc as the latter enters each of said boxes, a vertically disposed cooperating linkage rod movable with each of said indicating levers and interconnected with additional linkage elements which are adapted through forward motion of said lay to release the motor to braking position upon indication of an improperly positioned shuttLe in one of said shuttle boxes, wherein said additional linkage elements include an indicating latch mounted for pivotable movement by said linkage rods and levers away from engagement with the means for causing a cessation of loom power.
 2. The mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said indicating levers and cooperating linkage rods are provided with means for transmitting independent indications for the pivotal movement of said indicating latch.
 3. The mechanism according to claim 2 wherein said means for transmitting independent indications to said indicating latch includes a longitudinally extending linkage wire and cooperating link element interconnecting said latch with the most remotely disposed shuttle box therefrom.
 4. A loom-stopping and protector mechanism for a fly-shuttle loom which is operable through linkages interconnected with motors of the clutch-brake type, a lay, aligned and oppositely disposed shuttle boxes forming the ends of said lay for receiving a shuttle as it is caused to travel thereacross, the improvement which comprises a shuttle-indicating lever pivotably mounted in each of said boxes adjacent the shuttle entrance portion thereof, said lever being disposed so as to be contacted by said shuttle and pivoted in a radial arc as the latter enters each of said boxes, a vertically disposed cooperating linkage rod movable with each of said indicating levers and interconnected with additional linkage elements which are adapted through forward motion of said lay to release the motor to braking position upon indication of an improperly positioned shuttle in one of said shuttle boxes, wherein said shuttle indicating levers are provided with camming tip portions for contacting the upper surface of said shuttle when the latter enters each of said shuttle boxes thereby pivoting said levers upwardly in a radial arc.
 5. The mechanism according to claim 4 wherein the camming tip portions of said levers are so formed and disposed as to cause said tip portions to automatically pivot to the shuttle pathway position when losing contact with the upper surface of said shuttle as the latter is picked from each of said shuttle boxes. 